


Love By Design

by Sunshineyr



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Awkward Boners, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-23 07:07:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30051765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunshineyr/pseuds/Sunshineyr
Summary: Rhys gets the brilliant idea to get a tattoo, and has an even more brilliant idea after thinking Vaughn was turned on by the process. Vaughn has been in love with Rhys for over a year, and Yvette? She's got money on when Vaughn and Rhys finally put two brain cells together and finally make out.
Relationships: Rhys/Vaughn (Borderlands)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Interest

**Author's Note:**

> Premise belongs to TallAndHandsomeJanitor on Tumblr, based on this post: https://tallandhandsomejanitor.tumblr.com/post/151560971321/vaughn-seeing-rhys-tattoos-for-the-first-time

“Does it hurt?” Vaughn asked, and Rhys couldn’t respond. Loud music played overhead, which of course, was the second-to-last worst type of music: ska. He waited for the buzzing next to his ear to cease, suddenly aware of the growing problem, both at hand, and in his pants.

The tattoo artist pulled away for a moment, and Rhys took the time to unload himself of his vest and very subtly place it over his lap, to hide one of his problems. “I mean, yeah, it hurts. It’s a tattoo, and it involves needles, so it’s gonna hurt. It’s just a different kind of pain. Eventually you get used to it, I guess.”

His artist, Josh, smiled. “It’s kind of like the spiciest marker in the world. Except it’s permanent. Imagine how much my sleeves hurt.” He wiped down the tattoo using a wet paper towel, and Vaughn leaned over to see the outline was finished, and the shading was next.

“It just looks painful, especially on your neck, y’know?” Vaughn relaxed in his seat, as a thought he hadn’t discussed yet pops into his head. “I wonder if you’ll get in trouble. It’s pretty visible, man.”

“I doubt it. Henderson told me it would be fine, as long as it wasn’t vulgar. I want to show that I’m not just another cog in this machine. I’m a handsome, well-dressed, and intelligent man, but also, I’m cool, mysterious, and have a neck tattoo.” Rhys smiles at Vaughn, who shook his head softly in reply. “What?”

The shorter man stood up, picking up his own vest off the back of his chair. “I’m sorry man, I gotta go. I’ll see you when you get back to the apartment, I’m gonna go home and change, and maybe go play the new Bunkers and Badasses expansion with Yvette and some of the guys from accounting.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later then!” Rhys waved with his robotic hand, and Josh waited until he settled down on the table to continue.

“So, is that the roommate you mentioned?” Josh finished refilling the ink caps, and dunked the needle end into the ink.

“Yeah, Vaughn’s been my roommate since college. I kind of thought getting this tattoo might impress him, but he just seems… I don’t know. Not interested?”

“Getting tattooed is kind of boring, I can’t blame him. By the way, the shading hurts worse than the outline, and you’re gonna be here a while, so I’d recommend getting comfortable.” Josh motioned to his vest. “Maybe use it as a pillow if you want.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be okay. Hey, is it weird for clients to get aroused while getting a tattoo or piercing?”

“Not as weird as you’d think. It’s the adrenaline.”

“Okay, cool. Well, I apologize if I happen to, uh… you know.”

“As long as you aren’t coming in your pants, we’ll be fine.”

* * *

Vaughn returned to the apartment, and slammed the door behind him, resting his back on it with a sigh.

Riding the train back from the district was difficult, but he was thankful he had his messenger bag to rest on his lap. He didn’t expect the idea of Rhys getting a boner to bother him that much.

“What’d he do now?” Yvette looked up from their couch, sipping from a glass of wine, her heels ditched among Rhys’ many shoes to the left of their door.

“He got a tattoo, and then popped a boner while we were sitting there. He tried to hide it but it was pretty obvious.” Vaughn tossed his bag on the couch, toeing off his tennis shoes among the pile of assorted boots and shoes. He should really clean that up some time, he reminds himself.

“A tattoo!?” She shook her head in disbelief as Vaughn joined her on the couch. “Was it cool at least?”

“That’s what you heard out of what I said?”

“Yeah, he popped a boner too, but that’s not new. The man has a list of most awkward boners filed away somewhere in the back of his mind. But a tattoo, I’m surprised he didn’t mention that to me this morning.

Vaughn rested his head on the back of the couch, tossing his glasses on the next cushion before rubbing his face. “He decided he wanted it after seeing an ad on his way back from lunch. Booked the appointment and walked in fifteen minutes after work was over.” He focused his attention to the television, and could barely make out some trashy reality show that Yvette loved.

“I know we talk about it every week, so I might as well ask. Have you made up your mind on telling him yet?”

“No,” Vaughn balanced his glasses back on his nose, before stealing Yvette’s glass of wine and finishing it, “I’m not telling Rhys how I feel.”

Yvette grimaced, before getting up and taking her glass with her to the kitchenette. “That’s not going to do you any good. The man could up and find someone new if you don’t.” She pulled another glass from the cabinet, and filled both with pinot noir, emptying the bottle.

“I know. But I’m not ready yet. Thanks, by the way. Now I’m worried he’s going to find someone else.” Vaughn graciously took the glass from Yvette, as she set hers on the table and tucked her legs up under her on the couch. “I wasn’t worried about that until you said it.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m trying to be realistic. You’ve been in love with him for how long now? A year?” She took a sip of her glass, muting the tv to give Vaughn her full attention. “If he doesn’t suspect you’re madly in love with him, he’s blind, but you know Rhys. It took him a month to realize Souzie is my girlfriend.”

“Good point.” Vaughn paused, swishing his glass around, seeing his reflection in the glass for a moment.

Yvette puts her hand on his shoulder, rubbing his arm. “It’s okay, Vaughn. You tell him when you’re ready."


	2. Idea

“Aaaand we’re finished,” Josh announced, catching Rhys’ attention with a snap of his fingers, “you’re all done, kid.”

Rhys sat up, wobbly and feeling an ache in his neck from the odd posture while getting his tattoo, and shook his head. “That didn’t take long!”

“Nope - only a couple hours or so.” Josh pulled out the sterile wrapping, which he motioned to Rhys. “This is Steriderm. Keep it on for two days, and take it off in the shower… if you can, I suppose. You have someone who can help take it off?”

“Yeah, Vaughn or Yvette probably won’t mind.” He stretched out his neck again, as Josh smoothed out the film over his tattoo.

“This might fill with loose fluid, don’t worry. It’s typically sweat, plasma, and residual ink, and it’s a good thing.” Josh peeled the final film off the top, and tossed it in the trash before removing his gloves. “So, what’d you think?”

“It was fun! I think I want to get another one soon, maybe a chest piece?” Rhys motioned to his chest, pointing at his collarbone. “It’d probably hurt, though.”

“Well, I have a design I’ve been working on that’s kind of a chest piece, kind of a siren design. It does go down the arm though, that cool with you?” Josh pulls up his drawing pad, and shows Rhys the design.

“That’s really cool, actually!” He was astonished at the fluid lines, swirling down his arm, curling around the elbow, and tapering off at the wrist. “How long would something like that take?”

“Weeks, maybe longer,” Josh sighed, “if you want the outline only, maybe a few visits, but with color? That’d take months worth of sessions, and since I recommend weekly visits with something like that, it could take a long time.”

“Whoever gets that would be a real badass.” Rhys thought for a moment, and then it hit him.  _ He  _ could be the badass.

“I’ll take some time to think about it, maybe I’ll take you up on it.”

“Holy shit dude, are you serious?!” Josh smiled wide, excited by the offer. “It’d take a lot of time, and a fuck ton of money.”

“Yeah!” Rhys imagined the look on Vaughn’s face if he came home one day with a tattoo that big. “I’d surprise my friends with it, maybe.”

“That’d be hard to hide, but if you’re up for the challenge, I’ll schedule you for your first session when I’ve finished the design.”

“Awesome!” Rhys was elated as he walked to the register, considering how Vaughn would feel if he got that tattoo, based on his reaction for the first one.

* * *

Vaughn and Yvette were both sprawled across the couches when Rhys came home. He sighed, kicking off his shoes, and finding two blankets to sprawl across them. He backed away, and smiled at his handiwork, thankful for the themed blankets Vaughn first bought for their apartment.

He heads to the kitchen, finding a container of leftovers from the other night, and pauses. Was the heartburn from truxican fajitas worth it? He sighed, popping the container in the microwave and resting against the counter, pausing it two seconds short of the programmed time to avoid hearing Vaughn drunkenly yell about waking him up.

He stuck a spork in the dish, turning around and nearly running straight into Yvette.

“Yvette,” he whispered, annoyed, “why didn’t you say anything?”

She rubbed her eyes and flopped down into one of the dining room chairs, shrugging. “I figured you heard my feet.”

He looked over to Vaughn’s sleeping form for a moment, before turning back and joining her at the table, glancing down at her feet. “You know I can’t hear you when you wear tights.”

“Sorry,” she yawned, blinking away sleep from her eyes, “what time is it?”

Rhys motioned with his metal arm, waking up the hologram interface for a brief second. “Eleven at night.”

“We must’ve passed out around nine, I suppose. We finished my bottle of pinot - the  _ other _ bottle of pinot, too.” She could barely see in the dark, and took a moment to realize she wasn’t wearing her glasses. “Did you do that?”

“What? Take off yours and Vaughn’s glasses? Of course. I know those things are expensive.” Rhys took another bite of peppers, chewing gracelessly with his mouth open.

“Gross, Rhys. Were you raised in a barn?” Yvette shook her head. “Probably not as expensive as your echo eye, but yeah, expensive.”

“I was not raised in a barn,” he feigned offense, clutching his hypothetical pearls, “and I’ll have you know I got a deal on my eye and arm. It only cost my quarterly bonus.”

“And an arm.” Yvette corrected him.

“Yeah, I lost my arm, but this one’s so much cooler.” He stuffed his mouth, and continued to talk, disgusting Yvette. “Plus it vibrates. You know you’d get one if you could.” He teased.

“That’d sound much better if you weren’t talking with food in your mouth - seriously, that’s disgusting. Why do I hang out with you two again?”

“Because I buy you lunch.” Rhys swallowed, and went to take another bite, sad he’d finished the container.

“True. On that note,” Yvette stood from the table, “I’m gonna go to bed. Try not to wake Vaughn. He,” she pauses, considering her options, “he had a hard night.”

“What, did he cry all night?” Rhys said, somewhat rhetorically, but based off the face Yvette pulled in response, he went quiet. “Why was he crying?”

“You’ll find out soon.” She reminded him, with a hand to his shoulder as she passed by. “It’s not my business to tell you.”

“Okay…” he smiled up, “goodnight, then.”

“Night.” She flipped the switch to the kitchen as she passed by, leaving Rhys in complete darkness.

He bit his lip, raising his hand and lighting the way to the kitchen, setting the dishes in the sink. He walked past the couch on his way to his bedroom, pausing to look at Vaughn on the way by. 

“Goodnight, Vaughn.”


	3. Concept

The call with Josh was uneventful, but they scheduled an appointment every Tuesday night, since it was the least busy night for Josh, for the next three months.

Rhys was beyond excited, but couldn’t tell anyone - not even Yvette, because as loyal as she is, her girlfriend is quite the blabber-mouth. The time came to take off his Steriderm, and Vaughn was very, very nervous.

Yvette loved getting her nails done, and currently rocked a set of full acrylics, so she’d be no help whatsoever, and this was the closest Vaughn had been to Rhys in a long time.

His hands shook as he bent down beside Rhys, looking at the best edge to pull the film from. “You’re too fucking tall, dude,” Vaughn sighed, pushing Rhys to sit on the closed toilet lid, “there, now hold still.”

Rhys laughed, trying to stretch out his neck so Vaughn had full access to the Steriderm. “Okay, okay, fine. Here, just grab a corner and start pulling.”

Vaughn followed his directions, grabbing a corner of the square of film, and slowly tugging until it lifted from the skin. “Does this hurt?”

“A little, but it’s manageable.” Rhys replied, suddenly aware of how little space their bathroom gave them to work with. “Just don’t rip it off like a bandage.”

“I got it,” Vaughn tugged it down, and the bandage peeled away, revealing the untouched surface of Rhys’ freshly tattooed skin. Vaughn resisted the urge to touch it, balling up the film and tossing it in the trash, before walking to the sink. “What now?”

“I have to wash it, then apply lotion liberally for the next few days.” Rhys waited patiently for Vaughn to move from the sink to clean the tattoo. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

* * *

Rhys rolled onto his side with a huff, raising his head from his bed. The one night he goes to sleep on time, he gets a call.

“Hello?”

Yvette appeared in front of him, flickering on his holographic screen. “Hey! Souzie and I wanted to invite you and Vaughn to our night out - we just found out this bar has karaoke on Fridays, and seeing as you both have tomorrow off, it could be fun!” The sound of someone singing terribly could be heard in the background, and Rhys rubbed a hand down his face. “Wait, is now not a good time?”

“Seeing as I was sleeping, yeah. Not a great time.” Rhys glanced at the clock, realizing he’d only been asleep for maybe a half hour. “Is there a special on drinks, too?”

“It’s girly drinks night, your favorite! That’s why I invited you, plus I know you love the attention.” Yvette smiled. “So, you guys coming, or not?”

“I guess. Did you message Vaughn and ask?”

“Nope, he didn’t respond anyways.”

“Huh. Okay, I’ll go check up on him and ask if he wants to go out.”

“Good luck!” Yvette teased, before ending the call. Rhys sighed, throwing his head back into his pillow.

He finally rolled out of bed, and approached Vaughn’s room, only to hear the water running in the shared bathroom down the hall. He knocked on the bathroom door, and Vaughn paused the music. “Yeah?”

“Wanna go to a karaoke night with Yvette and Souzie?” The water stopped running, and Rhys could hear Vaughn sigh. “I take that as a no?”

The door opens, and Vaughn sticks his head through the door. “It wasn’t a no, I was just thinking about how I’d originally been planning on doing nothing for the night.”

Rhys smiles, and Vaughn remains stoic, making Rhys flinch, realizing that Vaughn wasn’t being sarcastic. “So… yes?”

“Yes, Rhys. I’ll go. Now let me get a towel around myself and go get dressed.” The door closes, and Vaughn rests his head against the door, leaving a wet spot from his still dripping hair.

He mumbles under his breath as he wipes the condensation off the mirror, “Sure Rhys, I’d love to go do my second to last least favorite activity on this damn spaceship, so I can listen to you serenade the audience and fall in deeper love with you. This action will  _ not _ have consequences.” He sighs, looking at his reflection. “Maybe this will go fine! Maybe I’ll actually have fun!” He grabs a towel and dries his hair, still talking to himself. “Okay, so my night would’ve been absolutely boring if I said no. Not gonna turn around and be like ‘Yeah I changed my mind,’ because that’s a dick move. Let’s just… make the most of the night.”

* * *

The room was packed, as one could expect for a Friday night on Helios. Rhys led Vaughn through the crowd, using his height (and the extra inch of the heel of his boots) to his advantage and finding Yvette at a table beside Souzie.

“Rhys!” Souzie yelled over the crowd, waving happily.

Rhys grabbed Vaughn’s wrist, pulling him through the sea of people and finally letting go to give Souzie a hug. “Been a while since I’ve seen you. Your hair is pink!”

“Yeah, I decided to go neon since I wasn’t feeling the blonde hair.” Souzie waved, less excitedly, to Vaughn over Rhys’ shoulder. “Vaughn, I’m glad you two came! I wasn’t sure you’d join us, since this isn’t exactly your scene. I booked you and Rhys each a spot, just in case you wanted to sing tonight.”

“Thanks, Souz.” He smiled as Rhys finally let go, letting her rest an arm on Vaughn’s shoulders.

“So, what’s everybody drinking?”

“Something pink and fruity, kind of like you!” Rhys smiled, ruffling Souzie’s hair gently.

Yvette laughed, scooting over at the booth for Vaughn so he had a place to sit. “Rhys, don’t call her fruity!”

Vaughn took the hint and stepped out from under Souzie’s arm, settling in the spot Yvette was keeping for him, and flinched as the microphone was tapped on, reminding him why he didn’t like karaoke night.

“Alright everyone, that was Kyla, give them a round of applause!” The emcee took his spot on stage, looking like a complete douche, black fedora and all. Vaughn shrugged off the similar vest he’d picked for the night, and stuffed it beside Yvette’s purse. “Okay, who’s next?” He pressed a button on the remote, and a male voice hollered, and Vaughn instantly stopped paying attention.

“It’s throwback night,” Yvette said, as the room filled with people singing along to an old song, “here’s the songbook.”

Vaughn took the tablet from Yvette, and scrolled through the songs already chosen for the night. “People really like the eighties.”

“Hell yeah they do!” Rhys leaned over the table, glancing at the song list, and Vaughn wonders how he could even read it upside down. “I already know what song I’m gonna sing, but Yvette is going up with me. I can’t rap - I’m too white!”

“Oh, really? I’m going on stage to rap? That’s kind of racist to assume I can rap, Rhys.” Yvette laughed, taking a sip of her drink.

“You can rap, I’ve heard you do it before! C’mon, we’ll kill it if we go on stage together. I’ve already put a hold on my song. Remember ‘Billionaire,’ from that one guy who I mix up with the guy who sang the song about magic?”

“That’s the same guy, Rhys.” Vaughn corrected him, and Rhys frowned and crossed his arms, fake pouting.

“I can’t go on stage by myself, not with a song that has rap in it.”

Yvette sighed, setting her drink down. “Fine, but you’re buying my drinks for the night.”

“Done.” Rhys smiled, leaning back over the table to try and read what Vaughn was scrolling through. “What’re you gonna sing?”

“Not sure yet - maybe I’ll find something good soon.”

Rhys leaned back, spotting Souzie with their drinks. “Souz! Thank you for the liquor.”

“No problem sweetpea!” Her accent came clear, setting down a rum and soda for Vaughn with a subtle wink. “And for Rhys, the girliest drink they had on the menu, something called a Sparkling Spectre.”

The drink was about as bright as Souzie’s hair, with a lemon slice balanced on the glass.

“Let’s hear it for Cigge!” The emcee announced, pressing the button to call out the next person up. “Alright, next up is a duo, let’s get Rhys and Yvette to the stage!”

Rhys took a sip of his drink, and immediately stretched out of the booth, Yvette following close behind. Vaughn took the opportunity to down his drink, knowing that he wasn’t prepared for Rhys to go on stage and sing.

Rhys took the microphone from the emcee, and smiled at the audience. “You ready, Yvette?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.” Yvette smiled, as Rhys pressed the button on the remote to start his song.

_ I wanna be a billionaire - so fuckin bad, and buy all of the things I never had. _

_ I wanna be on the cover of Guns Weekly Magazine, smiling next to the CEO and the king. _

Someone from the audience yelled out Jack’s name, making everyone laugh.

_ Oh, everytime I close my eyes, I see my name in shining lights. A different lady every night, oh I, I swear, the world better prepare, for when I’m a billionaire! _

Vaughn groans. “Of course he’d change the lyrics to something misogynistic,” he says to Souzie, “I hate when he acts like he’s so damn cool, he hasn’t gotten laid in forever!”

“Yeah, I know.” Souzie shakes her head. “Rhys is such a douche sometimes, but you still love him.”

Vaughn’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, leaning forward. “What?”

“It’s pretty obvious, Vaughn. Maybe you should use tonight as a way to tell him. Pick a love song!”

“No way, I’m not going to announce that in front of everyone.”

“It doesn’t have to be an announcement, just pick something romantic, see if you can serenade him. Worse case scenario, you pick a song that makes everyone happy.” Souzie takes a sip of her drink.

Vaughn thinks for a moment, before typing in the search function. “Okay, fine. I’ll sing something for Rhys.”

He types away, deciding to just search ‘unrequited love,’ which garners a few results, but none of them seem familiar to him. He backs out, and types in ‘l-o-v-e’.

“Here, let me see,” Souzie leans over the counter, as Vaughn picks a song he knows.

“There.” Vaughn looks up and smiles, teasing Souzie. “I picked a love song.”

Vaughn looks down as the device registers his choice, and gulps. “Wait - how do you go back?”

“You don’t! Do you know the song you chose?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t the right one! I thought I tapped ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love,’ but it says I picked something different!”

The audience erupted into applause, and Vaughn felt a bead of sweat run down his neck. “Nononono, that’s the wrong song!”

He shows Souzie the tablet, and it displays that he’s been entered in the queue, with ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’.

Vaughn looks around the tablet frantically for an option to change song choice, but doesn’t find one.

“Hey! How’d we do?” Yvette slides into the booth next to Souzie, leaving Rhys to stand to Vaughn’s side.

“You guys did great!” Souzie smiled, giving Yvette a soft kiss on the cheek. “I think Vaughn picked a song, but it registered as the wrong song.”

“Really?” Rhys threw his arm around Vaughn, looking over the tablet. “What song did you pick originally?”

“Nothing, it’s fine.” Vaughn locked the tablet, returning it to the holder on the table and scooting as far away from Rhys as he could. “I’ll just go up and sing the song it chose for me if I get picked.”

“Cool! I’m gonna go get another drink, since you’ve finished yours.” Rhys picked up the empty glass in front of Vaughn, and walked towards the bar.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Vaughn shrunk down into the seat and sighed. “I’m so fucked. I know the song, but like… I picked just a common love song. Now he’s gonna think I picked it specifically for him!”

“You’re fine, Vaughn. It’s going to be okay.” Yvette smiled. “Maybe it’ll get through his thick skull.”

The tablet vibrated in the holder.

**You’re up next! Get ready to sing!**


End file.
